Davina And The Dire Wolf

Vetiver And Neroli

Davina and Lena start walking towards the training grounds talking and laughing. There were a lot more people there than Davina expected. She studied the crowd to see if she saw any familiar faces. She spotted Wilson there and grimaced. Lena giggled at Wilson trying to show off his muscles. Sure, he had some muscles but he was also really short compared to his goonies. She suspected he might have the “little man” syndrome because he was always trying to show off how mighty he was in one way or another. “Ok mighty mouse..” thought Davina.

She also spotted Tim, surprisingly. He was talking with one of the instructors. “This looks like a good spot for us!” said Lena. They both plopped down on the ground and sat watching everyone else, amused by the circus. Some people were showing off, some were talking and laughing, and some looked like they were having a dance competition while trying to do what she could only guess was some sort of martial arts.

“Hey.. maybe we should just stretch.” said Davina to Lena. “Good idea! I don’t want to break myself trying to do whatever that guy over there is doing..” she motioned in the direction of the aforementioned “dance competition”. They both laughed. “Ok let’s put our feet together and join hands and then you pull me and I’ll pull you so we can attempt to stretch our backs..” said Lena. They helped one another stretch in various positions until they felt like they were flexible enough for whatever comes next.

They stood up just as one of the instructors shouted, “Attention! You will all form a line and stand with your hands by your side and look straight forward!” They all did as they were told. The instructor spoke again, “We have some guest trainers that will be here any minute from Green River Pack that are going to assist you with training should you decide to make something worthy of yourselves. These warriors are not just any warriors though, they’re Vermillion Guardsmen and it would be in your best interests to respect them.” Davina could hear a few people around her take in sharp breaths.

She had never heard of the Vermillion Guard until now. “They must be pretty elite warriors..” she thought. “I am going to have you all come over here one at a time and I want you to punch and kick this punching bag as hard as you can.” said the instructor. She could feel her wolf Lexy stirring, “Finally some action..” said Lexy. “You read my mind!” thought Davina. Lexy replied, “Of course I can hear your thoughts. Your anticipation for this meeting has made my spirit restless also.” Davina said, “Sorry about that..” Lexy responded, “Nonsense, it’s the beauty of having me, you never have to go through anything alone.” Davina suppressed the urge to smile while she was still standing at attention.

One by one, everyone was called up to assault the punching bag. Some looked like they would be formidable in a fight, while others winced at the pain from trying to hit harder than they were clearly capable. Everyone seemed to give it their best though. Finally Davina’s name was called and it was her turn. She envisioned kicking through the punching bag instead of just making contact with it. She wanted to make sure that her blows were as precise and effective as possible so that she could make a good first impression.

When she was done she returned to her place in the line to stand at attention once again. The last few people were called up as the setting sun began to cast golden rays of light over the field. Just then the instructor shouted, “Inspection time!” Davina could vaguely make out two approaching figures from the corner of her eye. Then it hit her.

A scent she had never smelled before. It was like a mix of Vetiver and.. “strawberry mint?” thought Davina curiously. Her heart began beating rapidly and she could sense her wolf was uneasy also. Her peripheral vision wasn’t yielding enough for her to see where this wonderful smell was coming from. It took all of her will power not to turn and look.

Earlier that day Harold met up with Paul to discuss their trip to the Black Creek Pack. “So should we take it easy on them? They are young after all..” said Paul. “Nah..” said Harald. “Let’s see what they’re made of first and then take it from there.” Paul nodded in agreement and grinned devilishly. “Well this should be fun.” replied Paul.

They loaded up into Harald’s white pick-up truck. They chatted and discussed different training exercises that they might use during the drive. Harold thought to himself, “This will be a good way to kill some time. It’s something I’m familiar with and a way to put what I know to good use. And what I know best is war. It sure beats sitting alone in that house staring at a wall..”

Soon they crossed the border into Black Creek territory and it wasn’t long before they arrived at the school campus. They drove down to the training fields and could tell from a distance why they were asked to help. “They definitely have a crowd here.. and they look about as well put together as a soup sandwich.” said Paul. Harold chuckled and said, “Now remember Paul, they’re young!” Paul replied, “What in the world have we got ourselves into?” The two men exited the truck and made their way over to the field.

They could see that the instructor already had them attacking a punching bag. “Well it’s not a terrible way to see who came here motivated.” said Harald. Just then a girl with long curly hair approached the punching bag. Harald stopped in his tracks. Suddenly he felt like the breath had been knocked from him. The smell of Jasmine and Neroli filled his nostrils. The way the evening sun made her skin glisten like gold had him in a trance. He watched every move she made with fascination. “Mate” he whispered.